The Global Stocktake is a United Nations Framework Convention initiative in which each of the Parties to the Paris agreement submits an assessment of their current progress in addressing climate change. Parties are required to submit reports on progress toward meeting emission reduction targets and other climate change-related goals so that global progress toward climate change mitigation and adaptation can be assessed ahead of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Conference of the Parties (COP28), which will be held in Dubai, UAE, November 30-December 12, 2023. The results of each country’s assessment are compiled into the Global Stocktake report, which outlines global progress toward meeting the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement requires that stocktakes happen every five years; parties submitted their reports in mid-September and the report was released online in October. The Stocktake is divided into sections for mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and response measures. Each of these sections will be covered in a different post. This post will cover adaptation.
Adaptation to climate change includes all actions which allow us to live with climate change impacts that have already occurred or will occur in the future. Some examples of climate change adaptation include updating evacuation plans for tropical cyclones to reflect changes caused by sea level rise, installing desalination facilities to ensure access to fresh water in a community experiencing drought, or a local government designating cooling shelters for those without access to air conditioning during a period of extreme heat. A few more examples of climate adaptation are available at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Website.
According to the Stocktake, the current status of the parties’ climate adaptation plans is insufficient due to lack of funding, technological limitations, and lack of capacity for overseeing these large-scale projects. In other words, the world is not prepared to adapt to climate change impacts like sea-level rise, extreme heat, and drought. We saw this lack of preparation this summer with the loss of life due to extreme heat, unhealthy air quality in the northeastern United States and Canada due to wildfires, and the flooding which engulfed parts of New York City last month. Lack of preparation for the kinds of climate impacts we are experiencing, and expect to see more of even if we are successful in mitigation efforts, means suffering and economic loss. Given the reality and the increasing severity of climate change impacts on the horizon, scaling up climate adaptation measures is essential to maintain a habitable world.
Insufficient adaptation for climate reflects a lack of international cooperation and coordination to successfully direct and implement adaptation measures. The report notes with concern that “efforts for adaptation remain fragmented, incremental, sector specific, and uneven across regions.” This lack of coordination is especially problematic when climate change impacts cross international borders. Problems like freshwater availability, global supply chains, and international food networks.
The biggest limitation for climate adaptation is robust financing for adaptation projects, particularly in developing countries which have the fewest resources to commit to adaptation. Adaptation projects do not provide return on investment in the same way other development projects might. This makes adaptation projects less appealing. The report calls for sustainable development specifically aimed at adaptation and recommends projects aimed at sustainable food production, conservation of ecosystems, and reducing loss and waste. Grant funding should be available to support developing countries engaging low return-on-investment adaptation projects. Climate financing should be simplified with more funding allocated for adaptation; the report calls for 50% of climate funding allocated for adaptation by 2025.
The report emphasizes the importance of adaptation projects in developing countries being managed by local personnel whenever possible. Adaptation goals and projects should be conducted with a goal of improving equity among races, genders, and socioeconomic groups with the needs of children and marginalized groups given high priority. In summary, a serious and coordinated approach is necessary to best allocate funding for adaptation projects which will be both effective and promote equity and justice goals.
The report calls for robust scientific observation and study to best understand climate impacts and calls parties to prioritize stopping deforestation, developing climate resistant food systems, restoring biodiversity, and further research on oceans and ocean ecosystems.
Given the importance of international financial support for climate adaptation projects in developing countries, the topic of the Loss and Damage fund, which was initially agreed upon at COP27 in Sharm el-Shaik, Egypt in 2022 will be an important topic at the upcoming COP in Dubai, UAE. This fund will allow developed countries, which have benefited the most from burning fossil fuels, to support developing countries, which have borne the most significant impacts from climate change. Supporting developing countries as we ask them to mitigate carbon emissions is essential to a just transition.